_J. communis_, the common juniper (see fig.), and several other species, belong to the section _Oxycedrus_. The common juniper is a very widely distributed plant, occurring in the whole of northern Europe, central and northern Asia to Kamchatka, and east and west North America. It grows at considerable elevations in southern Europe, in the Alps, Apennines, Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada (4000 to 8000 ft.). It also grows in Asia Minor, Persia, and at great elevations on the Himalayas. In Great Britain it is usually a shrub with spreading branches, less frequently a low tree. In former times the juniper seems to have been a very well-known plant, the name occurring almost unaltered in many languages. The Lat. _juniperus_, probably formed from _juni_--crude form of _juvenis_, fresh, young, and _parere_, to produce, is represented by Fr. _genièvre_, Sp. _enebro_, Ital. _ginepito_, &c. The dialectical names, chiefly in European languages, were collected by Prince L. L. Bonaparte, and published in the _Academy_ (July 17, 1880, No. 428, p. 45). The common juniper is official in the British pharmacopoeia and in that of the United States, yielding the oil of juniper, a powerful diuretic, distilled from the unripe fruits. This oil is closely allied in composition to oil of turpentine and is given in doses of a half to three minims. The _Spiritus juniperi_ of the British pharmacopoeia is given in doses up to one drachm. Much safer and more powerful diuretics are now in use. The wood is very aromatic and is used for ornamental purposes. In Lapland the bark is made into ropes. The fruits are used for flavouring gin (a name derived from _juniper_, through Fr. _genièvre_); and in some parts of France a kind of beer called _genévrette_ was made from them by the peasants. _J. Oxycedrus_, from the Mediterranean district and Madeira, yields cedar-oil which is official in most of the European pharmacopoeias, but not in that of Britain. This oil is largely used by microscopists in what is known as the "oil-immersion lens." The third section, _Caryocedrus_, consists of a single species, _J. drupacea_ of Asia Minor. The fruits are large and edible: they are known in the East by the name _habhel_. [Illustration: (From Bentley and Trimen's _Medicinal Plants_, by permission of J. & A. Churchill.) Juniper (_Juniperus communis_). 1. Vertical section of fruit. 2. Male catkin.]